The Final Four

With the Final Four this weekend, I am constantly being bombarded by with comments that this is one of the most uninteresting and predictable Final Fours in history. OK? Can you explain this to me? Are you upset because for the first time in the history of the sport the professionals got it right? For the first time ever all Final Four teams had a one seed in their brackets.

Remember folks, when a team gets a number one seed it is not considered a successful tournament unless, they make it to the Final Four. That’s why you’ve got to be thankful. We are going to get to see the greatest teams in the country lineup verses each other. You are going to tell me you would rather see Davidson play Siena or West Kentucky play Michigan State. That’s fine, I’ll take UNC v. Kansas and UCLA go against Memphis everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

I will be honest, when Davidson’s Jason Richards’ toss up that last second off balance prayer verse Kansas to get to the Final Four, yes I got a little excited. That’s what makes the dance so exciting, it’s the little schools knocking out the big boys. Honestly though, with the way North Carolina is playing, Davidson has about as much of a chance a snowman verses a Mac truck. Let’s not lie and say Kansas played a game for the ages though. This team played did not play to win, they played not to lose. Which, they didn’t.

The NCAA has always favored the big conference national powerhouses. These teams get the best coaches who in turn recruit the best players. So, that’s what you are getting the best coaches, with the best players squaring off to determine the national championship. None of these teams have fallen lower than sixth in the country all season. I personally can’t wait.

So yes, everything did play out as is should have. The 2008 NCAA tournament will not be remembered for one Cinderella going to the Final Four. However, what it will be remembered for is the top teams in the country playing to the top of their game and letting it all hang out when it really mattered. The North Carolina Tar Heels are playing some of the best most dominant basketball in the last twenty years. Kansas finally is playing in the Final Four and will play to win. UCLA has not shown complete dominance but when this team plays as a complete team, they can be the greatest team in the country. And finally, the closest thing to an underdog in the Final Four; the Memphis Tigers are probably the most entertaining and well coached team in the dance. As a Tiger’s fan I can’t wait for the rest of the country to get a taste of this team.

So sorry America, the mid night came early this year, but you are seeing the best teams play for the title. Sit back and enjoy the weekend. It will be a good one.

YouMail

Hello All, thewestbias team here.

We wanted to let all you NCAA basketball sports fans know about a really cool service called YouMail. It is a FREE service that replaces your existing cell voicemail and gives you the ability to create different greetings for different callers. They are currently celebrating March Madness with special greetings for all the different schools in the sweet 16 and more. If you would like to support your team with a customized voicemail then check YouMail out at: www.youmail.com .

Thanks to you readers and fans for all your ongoing support...we appreciate it!

thewestbias team

The Sweetness

As we move into the Sweet Sixteen match-ups you have to notice the contrast of teams today’s games feature as 4 Seed Washington State takes on the overall 1 Seed North Carolina and 1 Seed UCLA tries to snuff out the Cinderella run of 12 Seed Western Kentucky. The outcome of these games has to be blurred by both the contrast of styles and the momentum each of these teams has gained.

North Carolina has absolutely mowed their opponents scoring over 200 points in their first two games, while Washington State? Well they’ve only given up 81 points total in their two games locking up Winthrop in the Second Half for only 11 points and snuffing out the run and gun style of Notre Dame. The Unstoppable Force please meet the Immovable Object.

As in most of their games Washington State will have a chance to win because of their deliberate style and suffocating defense. Even if the Cougars have reached a glass ceiling in terms of having to defend the talent of North Carolina, it’s nearly impossible to see the Heels scoring 100 when there won’t be more than 60 possessions in the game. The bottom line here is going to be where the score is located. If it’s in the fifty’s it’s Washington State’s game to win, however if North Carolina hits 70 you can bet they have the game in hand, an incredibly intriguing show down of styles.

UCLA and Western Kentucky? Well they might have more in common than you’d think. The Big Shot Cinderella (See Drake) versus the Serendipitous Goliath (See 4 of last 7 games for the Bruins). Will it be a clutch shot or a lucky break? UCLA has been the recipient of some serious love from the refs in the waning moments of games, if you want to beat the Bruins you better have a big enough lead to take out all of the factors the final 2 minutes of a game can offer.

It’s hard to draw too many conclusions about Western Kentucky since their second round game was against a 13 seed, but WKU’s buzzer beater against Drake has to be the shot of the tournament thus far, they seem like a team that can stay in games, but have they run into a defense as strong as UCLA’s? We’ll see if they’re prepared for a game closer to the 60’s.

Another great NCAA tournament

A few quick thoughts as another great NCAA tournament opening weekend comes to a close.

Davidson- Did I call that or did I call that? When they beat Georgetown i felt like one of those guys from the Holiday Inn Express commercials. Im ready to walk into a meeting at NASA and give a lecture on quantum physics and when they ask me if I have a PHD I can say "No, but I did have Davidson over Georgetown..." My Davidson pick was as good as my Arizona to the elite 8 prediction was bad. Seriously though, Davidson has been the best story of the tournament so far and have probably been my favorite team to watch. And for the record, no, I had no idea their guards were as good as they are. Stephen Curry has been indescribably good. Best scorer I've seen in this tournament. I for one wouldn't be too surprised if they won a couple more games. They're certainly capable of getting by Wisconsin and by that time they will have a lot of confidence as well as the fact that anyone with anything resembling a soul will be rooting for them. Davidson in the final four?! I really don't think it's as inconceivable as it sounds.

Duke- How in the hell did they get a 2 seed? They should have lost to Belmont and then looked like crap against West Virginia. It's as if they were overrated all year or something. Duke overrated?! Shocking, lets move on.

The floor logos- Can we please get rid of them? And by the way, are they like made of ice? Vaseline? Banana Peels? Whatever it is, they are absurdly slippery. Every game there are at least a few guys hitting the deck because of those garish NCAA decals in the middle of the floor. It has affected more than a few plays. It would be a shame if a team were to lose a game because a player slipped at a crucial time. Unless that player was Tyler Hansborough. I would probably quite enjoy seeing that actually.

Disappointing lottery picks- Eric Gordon couldn't lead Indiana to one victory and participated in one of the most boring first round games of the tournament. The late Indiana versus Arkansas game was a really bad way to end the first round. They apparently had no desire to win that game because Arkansas was clearly less talented and it showed when they got absolutely massacred in the next round by North Carolina. I know they went through a lot with the whole Kelvin Sampson debacle, but a guy with the abilities of Eric Gordon, not to mention a supporting cast that is quite good including D.J White, should have been able to win at least one game in the tournament. Same goes for O.J Mayo and USC. I was never to high on them to begin with but they had been playing well of late and should have been able to get past Kansas State. I have to imagine Gordon and Mayo hurt their draft status at least somewhat. Michael Beasley was less than impressive as well. I know he's not on a great team, but he seems to take a lot of bad shots. I also question the decision to go Kansas State in the first place. Why is the best player in the nation at Kansas State? Manhattan, Kansas. Thats where he chose to go college? What's the thought process there? It really doesn't speak to Beasley's intelligence if you ask me.

The Big East- Who would have thought that after two rounds only two teams from the Big East would be remaining and one of them would be Villanova. Connecticut's performance was pretty much embarrassing and Georgetown certainly left a lot to be desired. Notre Dame got destroyed by Washington State and Pittsburgh lost to Michigan State which on paper looks pretty surprising. Marquette could have beaten Stanford with a little more luck but the fact remains that the Big East was clearly over-hyped heading into this tournament.

Looking forward I would have to say Im about as comfortable with my bracket as I've in a while. I wouldn't change my mind with UCLA as my champion even though they narrowly escaped Texas A&M. They should handle Western Kentucky and I can't see them losing to West Virginia or Xavier. I would consider Putting North Carolina into the championship game. They definitely appear to be on a mission as well as the fact that Tennessee looked a little shaky against Butler. Butler is a good team though and North Carolina has played two crap teams. Washington State will be a good test for the Tar Heels. The reverse-reverse jinx I put on Stanford has worked brilliantly. Obviously they have to play better to beat Texas, but Texas didn't really look that great themselves by barely sneaking by Miami. The game I'm most excited for is definitely Davidson-Wisconsin. The Louiseville-Tennesse match up is also very intriguing. I'll be honest though, I'm a little disappointed in CBS not having as many Bruce Pearl closeups as they should. His face is just as entertaining as his team. He reminds me of a cartoon. He seems like one of those people that you couldn't really draw a caricature of because he already pretty much looks like a caricature of himself. Why doesn't CBS realize this?

The Tournament

I'm not going to bother to go on public record with my entire bracket. There are many reasons for this. For example; Why? Why should anyone be subjected to yet another uninformed opinion about the predicted results of a competition that has shown time and again its’ impossibility to predict. Nobody ever gets it right. At a certain point you're better off picking which team’s uniforms you like the most. The other, more obvious reason is simply; What the hell do I know anyways? I've barely even seen half of these teams play. The great thing about the tournament though, is that for a few days everyone gets to be a college basketball expert. I mean is there anything better than making a passionate argument for a team when you don't know what conference they play in or you can't even pronounce their best players name correctly. It really just becomes a contest for who can name the most players on a team. So, since these are the only days I get to be a college basketball expert I plan on taking full advantage. I have no shortage of thoughts heading into the best week on the sports calender outside of the World Cup. Here is the 7 millionth region by region breakdown of the last 48 hours.

East
One of my favorite parts about filling out my bracket every year is penciling in the team that beats North Carolina or Duke. I really can't stand the amount of love and praise that is showered on them by pundits, not to mention referees. However, I had a hard time finding someone who was going to beat the Tar Heels this year. I eventually settled on Tennessee, who arguably could have been a 1 seed. There's obviously no guarantee that the Volunteers will make it to the Elite 8, unless of course Candace Parker suits up for them who is a total beast. Tyler Hansborough doesn't want any part of Candace Parker, of this I am sure. Too bad for Bruce Pearls team that likely won't happen but instead they will have to navigate through a pretty tough bottom half of the bracket with a potential match up looming with a very good Louisville team in the sweet 16. Rick Pitino's team made a good run last year and have all the main pieces back. Also, Tennessee potentially face a second round match up with Butler who beat them last year. All that being said I don't see North Carolina stumbling early but I don't think they have played as good a team as Tennessee for a while. Plus I just hate them. But, again, what the hell do I know?

South
Memphis has got to be the least talked about 33-1 team ever. Sure they don't shoot free throws, and they're facing a couple tough potential match ups in a hot Pittsburgh team as well either Texas or Stanford. But, they're really really good and they have a game changing point guard in Derrick Rose which to me is the most important position to be filled during the tournament. The thing about Texas is they couldn't get it done with super freak Kevin Durant last year. To me that reveals something is lacking in their coaching, which is the most underrated aspect that goes into making these picks if you ask me. The west coast bias in me wants to say they're going to lose to Saint Mary's in the second round, not to mention how awesome a Sweet 16 match up between two bay area schools in Stanford and Saint Mary's would be. Maybe if I say that there's no way Texas can lose to Saint Mary's it will reverse jinx them into the Sweet 16. Speaking of reverse jinxes, being the big Stanford fan that I am, I've always had a hard time with the fact that I always pick them going about 2 rounds further than they usually go. So instead, this year I was going into my bracket with the thought process that I would reverse jinx them by picking them to lose in the second round. However the more I though about it, the more I realized that would be too obvious and would result in a jinx, as opposed to a reverse jinx. Instead I've penciled them in to beat Texas who won't be able to hang with the Cardinal's imposing frontline and advance to the Elite 8. This will clearly result in a reverse-reverse jinx. It would not be the first time that this type of tactic has been attempted or has succeeded in sports history. Who says bracketology is not a science? So to sum it up, Stanford, riding the wave of a much needed reverse-reverse jinx will come up short against a very good and supremely athletic Memphis Tiger team. I would like to say that picking Stanford to lose at that point would constitute another dimension of jinx, but frankly, at this point I've lost count.

Midwest
I would contend that this is by far the weakest bracket. I have Kansas coasting through to the final four. Call me crazy but I have Davidson penciled in as moving through in the bottom half of the bracket. I can't get behind Georgetown for some reason. I’m not convinced that Roy Hibbert is that good. He's definitely tall though. So there's something to be said for that. When it comes to the tournament, I like teams with really good back courts and Davidson has one of the best we'll see in Stephen Curry and Jason Richards. Richards, who runs the point, leads the nation in assists. That’s a good statistic. Curry was talked about last year in March as a freshman and didn't disappoint. This year as a sophomore he's averaging over 25 points a game and shooting 43% from three point range. I like Davidson, I would like them a lot more if they weren't playing a Gonzaga team in the first round that I also really like, but nevertheless, I like Davidson. I’m not a big Wisconsin fan because I've been down on the Big 10 all year, and USC and O.J. Mayo are overrated if you ask me. I feel like they kind of snuck into the tournament. Have you heard they signed Lil' Romeo for next year though? The possibility of seeing Master P at Pac Ten games is beyond exciting. So, Trojan fans can certainly take solace in that fact if they face an early exit this year.

West
This is where my Pac 10 bias really starts to spin out of control. I envision UCLA handling the top half of the bracket with relative ease and I'm going out on a limb putting Arizona into the Elite 8. I don't even like Arizona to be honest, I just think they're a good team. Jerryd Bayless is as good a guard as there is in this tournament and is a really tough nosed player who has proven that he is very hard to stay in front, especially in crunch time. Add that to the fact that I really hate Duke and you have my second 10 over 2 upset. There is a very distinct possibility that UCONN is a good team but I really couldn't say why. I mean I know they have a big man named Thabeet who's supposedly good and Jim Calhoun certainly has a good track record as a coach, but I would have to have seen at least ten minutes of their season to pick them to beat UCLA. Digger Phelps dropping a few names is really not talking me into anyone at this point. Drake is the 5 seed. Where is Drake? What conference do they play in? I do not know the answer to these questions. I don't feel comfortable having them win more than one game without at least knowing their mascot. Purdue is a big ten team that I'm not too high on. Xavier is another team I don't have too much confidence in. I wouldn't say that is solely based on the fact that I feel that no one named Xavier has ever won a fight in playground history, but that certainly contributes.

If anyone cares, (which they really shouldn't) I have UCLA overtaking Tennessee for the national title which will inevitably mark the umpteenth time I have incorrectly chosen the winner of the tournament.

Shut up and Dance!

With yesterday’s NCAA tournament brackets being revealed last night, let the debates begin. Or wait, actually don’t. Everyone shut up and dance!

Every year, I have to hear how some bubble teams shouldn’t have gotten in and took the spot from teams that should have gotten in. Yes, Arizona State you may have been the 35th best team in the country, but honestly who cares? Honestly, I would rather see no name USA take Butler to the wire than see you go one game and down. If you are counting on and crying about your RPI to get you in, you probably don’t have any business being there. If you win then you are in. So please shut up and dance!

Secondly, I keep hearing some teams got screwed by getting put into certain brackets. Sorry, Tennessee playing UCLA, Kansas or a revenge hungry Memphis in the Elite Eight is not going to be easier than your match up with the Tar Heels of North Carolina. You are a two seed. You did not earn better. You’re argument is like saying, “We don’t want to play the Patriots, we want the Colts.” You have to play to win. Shut up and dance!

Something else that bothers me is the complaining about where teams play there games. As a diehard born and bred Memphis Tigers fan, yes I did say Memphis, it does concern me that my Tigers will potentially have to play the two seeded Texas Longhorns at San Antonio in the Elite Eight. You don’t always get what you want, there is no such thing as an easy trip to an NCAA title. And Gonzaga Davidson doesn’t sell out games in their home gym, why are they going to sell out something four times that size two hours away. Shut up and dance!

Finally, seeding. Lets talk about it. Yes there are teams that possibly could have been seeded higher or a little lower. Oregon may be slightly over rated as a nine seed, but they have to play a one seeded Memphis if they win. Please tell me how they got lucky? By the way here is a little bracket advice for everyone. IF THE TEAM HAS A BETTER SEED THEN THEY ARE PROBABLY GOING TO WIN. You are not a professional. The people that make these brackets are much smarter than all of us. Look back at last thirty Final Fours. There are only four teams seeded lower than six. There a lot of 1’s and 2’s, some 3’s, and a few 4’s and 5’s. The reason we are still talking about George Mason three years later is because that doesn’t happen, but once in a lifetime. So don’t be dumb.

Shut up and dance!